4.13 development update discussion and feedback

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Derda508

Again, I think, we have to seperate between historically correct and reasonable for a gameplay. Current fighter AI (below ace level) is much to agressive.

Yes. There is a point where "realistic" isn't "fun" and IL2 is a game as much as a simulation.

Right now, I think that DT has gotten the "fun" aspect of rookie fighter vs. fighter AI right. They're clumsy but aggressive, making it easy for an experienced human player to shoot down a lot of them. Other aspects of Rookie AI are very frustrating, however, and should be fixed. Note that "fixing" could be as simple as telling players, "Yes, they really were this bad."

I've always maintained that the solution to different interpretations of "rookie" is to have a level of AI below rookie, called "cannon fodder." They would behave like old, pre-DT rookies in combat, but with no SA or deflection shooting skills at all, and very limited sighting skills.

That way, Rookie AI is reserved for your average "nugget" straight from a well-run training school. Clueless, and needing lots of polishing to turn him into a decent air warrior, but with the basic skills he needs to succeed.

If possible, it would also be nice to be able to set pilot aggression levels in the FMB or campaign setting, from "reckless > aggressive > cautious > cowardly".

Most pilots would fall into the "cautious" range, attacking only when they have several clear advantages like height and position, and they clearly outclass their foes. Ace AI plus "cautious" gives your classic high-scoring "sniper" ace like Manfred Von Richthofen, Eric Hartmann or George Beurling.

Cowardly pilots will avoid contact, will fail to carry through attacks and might well panic when fired on. Combine that with Rookie AI and you get your classic "turkey" pilot. Combine it with Ace AI and you get a "burnout" who's on the ragged edge of Combat Fatigue/PTSD, or who believes that the war is lost and his main job is to keep himself alive (typical of many French pilots in 1940 after the Blitzkreig really started to bite).

Reckless pilots will charge right in regardless of the odds and are otherwise utterly fearless - basically dead heroes waiting to happen. With Ace AI that gives you classic posthumous medal winners like Frank Luke or Werner Voss in WW1 or Greg Boyington in WW2 (I know - not posthumous Medal of Honor, but the Marines thought he was dead when they gave it to him). With Rookie AI, you get kamikazes.

Originally Posted by Derda508

Lots of real pilots will have prayed for a mission were they dit not have an engagement with enemy fighters. Also, from what I read, it was extremely rare for a (German) fighter pilot to try more than one attack run on bombers. The stress to face all these dozens of machine guns was just not managable, only a few aces were ablöe to do that.

This is the effect of morale, which isn't well modeled in IL2. Had the Germans known just how inaccurate all those guns were, they would have charged right in. But, seeing all those tracers, all "aimed at you" freaked out all but the bravest. For this reason, German bomber gun loadout included some practice explosive rounds specifically to make attackers think that they were under a greater intensity of fire than they actually were.

Of course, having Rookie AI refuse to engage bombers would be "not fun." That's where "bravery levels" can be used to balance between realism and fun. Rookie but Reckless = current Rookie vs. Bomber AI, Rookie but Cautious/Cowardly = realistic German rookie bomber intercept behavior.

Originally Posted by Derda508

I remember from an interview with Günter Rall that from 44 on only every fifth rookie survived his tenth mission. The most frequent cause of death was not being shot down, but accidents during landing and take off ...

Rall's interview squares with the data I've posted previously (taken from Spick's "The Ace Factor," but repeated in Bungay's book on the BoB).

The high number of accidents on landing and takeoff might be due to evil habits of the late model Bf-109 - lots of engine torque and a narrow landing gear - plus landing on improvised or bomb damaged fields. But, again, losing 10-20% of your pilots due to landing and takeoff accidents on every mission is "not fun."